WHILE the AFL has imposed draconian conditions on Ben Cousins' prospective return to football after ending his 12-month ban for bringing the game into disrepute, it could face a fight with the players' union and Cousins' management.

Cousins' manager, Ricky Nixon, will meet with AFL Players Association chief Brendon Gale today to discuss their shared concerns about the unprecedented drug-testing regime that has been demanded of Cousins in return for allowing him to enter the draft.

In announcing that Cousins was free to return to football, the AFL has devised the strictest drug-testing regime ever visited upon a player, including urine tests up to three times a week and hair tests four times a year.

But the union suggested in a statement yesterday that by not consulting it, the AFL may have acted outside its own rules.

"The AFL Players Association notes that the terms of the illicit drugs policy can only be varied with the consent of both the AFL and the AFL Players Association," it said.

Nixon would not comment last night on whether the AFL's conditions would have an impact on whether Cousins would nominate for the draft, other than to confirm that he would be meeting with the players' association today.

AFL boss Andrew Demetriou admitted the players' union had not been consulted and despite any grievance it might have, the decision would not change.

"This is a decision that will stand. It is a very difficult issue we have been dealing with and on the balance we think it is the right decision … I would think the players' association would be pleased that Ben Cousins has been given the opportunity to nominate for the draft, and the opportunity to play football again," Demetriou said.

He said Cousins had been tested several times in recent months but had not yet had a hair test.

Cousins, who has admitted a drug addiction and has had counselling and rehabilitation in the past year, has been offered the right to resume playing only if he agrees to the onerous conditions. He is also required to attend any rehabilitation counselling the AFL's doctors deem appropriate and if he fails to co-operate with testing, seeks to dodge a test or avoids attending rehab he would be in breach of his conditions and be immediately suspended by the AFL.

Cousins will not be subject to the three-strikes policy and any failed drug test will be passed on to AFL football operations manager Adrian Anderson.

The union was seeking urgent advice from the AFL's doctors of any medical or expert advice that would justify the commission's resolution, and advice from Cousins himself, before seeking to take the matter further.

Cousins' challenge is to find a club prepared to gamble on his health, continued abstinence — to say nothing of his regular physical condition at 30 and having barely played in three years.

St Kilda remains most interested in the former West Coast captain, premiership player and Brownlow medallist, while the Brisbane Lions retain an interest.

The boards of both clubs will consider drafting Cousins now that it is not just an academic exercise.

Announcing the AFL's decision after a two-day commission meeting, AFL chairman Mike Fitzpatrick said the league seriously weighed the competing concerns of the integrity of the game and and the player himself. "This wasn't easy. We not only put ourselves in the position as custodians of the game but as parents, and members of the community who deal with the complexity of our current social issues," Fitzpatrick said.

"I think on balance we decided that given he has been judged to be in remission by the medical experts, and all the advice we have had, that on balance we felt it was fair that he be allowed to play again.

"They are not easy decisions. We know there is going to be a lot of publicity around it. And that will go on during the year, and that, one way or another, will impact on the game and how it is seen. We tried to get a balance on those issues."

He said the decision to approve Cousins' application to play was based on medical advice, and the commission did not seek to hear from the player.

Cousins was informed of the decision ahead of the AFL's press conference yesterday.

Fitzpatrick defended the extraordinary testing regime that Cousins will be subjected to as a means of discouraging his further drug use.

"We have sought to set up a regime that really encourages him to not take drugs, as simple as that, and to not go back to his old habits, and we very much hope he can play out the rest of his career clean," he said.

Demetriou admitted the league was not comfortable applying different standards and conditions to Cousins than to any other player.

"We go back 12 months, and it was an exceptional decision for an exceptional set of circumstances. We are not comfortable about making a decision about one player, we are not comfortable about having to deal with a very complex issue, but … we have made the decision we think is the right decision," Demetriou said.